CA Legislature requests more time for City College

The California Legislature unanimously called on an accreditation commission to give City College of San Francisco more time to fix problems and avoid closure.

In a bipartisan vote Thursday, state lawmakers passed resolutions in both the Senate and Assembly after The Chronicle revealed the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has the authority to reconsider or rescind its termination decision.

The commission had repeatedly said the U.S. Department of Education barred it from extending the July 31 deadline for revoking accreditation from the state’s largest community college.

“The most logical approach is to extend the timeline and allow the college to continue to function and serve its 80,000 students,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, who authored HR41 with Assemblyman Tom Ammiano. Both are San Francisco Democrats.

“They have the ability to do that and for some reason they are stubbornly refusing to do so,” Ting said.

State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, introduced a similar measure – SR47 in the Senate. Both resolutions passed unanimously Thursday.

The resolutions said City College has met nearly 95 percent of the 350 objectives laid out by the commission to meet accreditation, but that it does not appear full compliance is possible by the July 31 deadline. The commission cited City College for poor financial controls and governance structure and a lack of educational oversight.

A legal injunction bars the commission from revoking accreditation until a trial in October determines whether the commission acted properly when it first evaluated City College in 2012.

The potential closure of City College has created a tense situation for thousands of the school’s employees and its 80,000 students. Without accreditation, City College would lose state funding and close. San Francisco’s budget and legislative analyst found that City College generates more than $300 million annually in economic activity.